1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to an image display method and an image display system in which a server and a terminal are connected via a network to display an image stored in the server.
2. Description of the Related Art
In recent years, how to enjoy photos has diversified with widespread use of digital cameras. Various kinds of image processing are enabled by making good use of properties of digital image data.
For example, a technology capable of displaying a video similar to an ordered artwork is proposed (see, for example, Jpn. Pat. Appln. KOKAI Publication No. 8-44867). In this publication, a technique used to produce the ordered artwork is simulated. An automatic video processing is performed so as to produce video having a preferred appearance of ordered artwork and comfortable to consumers desiring decorative artworks. A corrected video is derived by lowering precision of the original video. The corrected video is added to the original video.
Also, a technology that takes an entire original image into consideration to make a conversion into a painting image of high artistic quality by developing the technology of Jpn. Pat. Appln. KOKAI Publication No. 8-44867 is proposed (see, for example, Jpn. Pat. Appln. KOKAI Publication No. 2004-213598). Color information and characteristics such as brush touch information are extracted from images of paintings actually drawn by painters. The extracted characteristics are added to a shot image.
Also, a technology allowing a selection of various images by changing the shape of an element figure, which is the unit of transfer, or the density or order of points on which transfer processing is performed is proposed (see, for example, Jpn. Pat. Appln. KOKOKU Publication No. 1-046905).
A powerful image processing engine is needed to make such image conversions and thus, installing an image processing engine on a server in a network to allow a user to upload a photo of the user to the server for image processing such as a snapshot-to-painting conversion on the server can be considered.
In such a case, if the user produces an artwork by snapshot-to-painting conversion of the user's photo, he (she) wants to show the artwork to others. One method of satisfying such a desire is posting a photo on a network by a social network service (see, for example, Jpn. Pat. Appln. KOKAI Publication No. 2008-242639).
An image obtained after a photo of a user being uploaded to a server by the user and image processing such as a snapshot-to-painting conversion being performed thereon will be called an “artwork” below.
If many users post a large quantity of artworks on a server, the number of artworks that can be displayed at a time is limited and a problem of deteriorating properties of browsing such arts is caused.